George Washington

George Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, on the 22d of February, 1732. His family was of English origin, and had been settled in Virginia for several generations. His father died when he was quite young, and he was left to the care of his mother, a woman of remarkable energy and firmness of character.

He received a plain English education, and at the age of sixteen was appointed a public surveyor. He was soon afterward employed in surveying the lands of Lord Fairfax, in the valley of the Shenandoah, and thus acquired that knowledge of the country which was of so much value to him in after years.

In 1753, he was sent by Governor Dinwiddie, of Virginia, to the French commander on the Ohio, to demand the withdrawal of the French forces from the territory claimed by the English. The expedition was one of great peril, and was conducted with remarkable skill and courage. The following year he was appointed lieutenant-colonel of a regiment raised to defend the western frontier, and was soon afterward promoted to the command of the regiment.

He served with distinction in the campaign against Fort Duquesne, and after the close of the war retired to his estate at Mount Vernon. He was elected a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses, and took an active part in the measures adopted by that body to resist the encroachments of the British government.

When the news of the battle of Lexington reached Virginia, Washington was among the first to declare for resistance. He was appointed by the Continental Congress commander-in-chief of the American forces, and assumed command of the army at Cambridge, Massachusetts, in July, 1775.

The history of the Revolutionary War is the history of Washington's military career. He conducted the operations of the army with consummate skill and prudence, and by his firmness and patriotism held together the scattered and ill-supplied forces of the Republic. He was victorious at Trenton, Princeton, and Yorktown, and his name became a tower of strength to the cause of independence.

At the close of the war, he resigned his commission and retired to Mount Vernon. In 1787, he was chosen president of the convention which framed the Constitution of the United States, and in 1789 was elected the first President of the Republic. He served two terms, and declined a re-election.

He died at Mount Vernon on the 14th of December, 1799. His death was regarded as a national calamity, and his memory is cherished by the American people as that of the greatest and purest of their public men.

Source:
McCabe, James D. The Centennial Book of American Biography. Philadelphia and Chicago: P. W. Ziegler & Co., 1876. Patriot Echoes Archive